Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads

Unit 9, Section Two Notes – The Cattle Kingdom

Spanish Beginnings

Ranching in Texas began with the Spanish, who established ranches as parts of missions during between the

1500 and 1700’s. They built these ranches in the Rio Grande and San

Antonio River Valleys, where ranching was supported by a good

climate, water supply, and abundant grasses.

Spanish Ranching Words

Rancho – Ranch Remuda – Group of Remount Horses La Reata – Lariet Lazo – Lasso Rodeo – Roundup Vaquero – Cowboy

Early Cattle Ranching

Eventually, people began opening their own cattle ranches, like Martin de Leon, whose cattle ranch was in

Victoria County. As more people acquired cattle, fights occurred between people over cattle. The

Spanish government ordered that all owners brand their cattle so they

could prove ownership.

Vaqueros

In the late 1800’s, one out of every three

cowboys was Mexican or of Mexican descent in

Texas. The cowboy was of life is rooted in the

vaquero, from the herding and ranching of

cattle to the tools and dress of a cowboy. Most

Mexican-American vaqueros were in South

Texas, as well as large Mexican-American ranch

owners, like Macedonio Vela and Dionisio

Guerra.

The First Cattle Drives

The first cattle drives were staged by Tejano ranchers who herded cattle to

Mexico. During the 1800’s, U.S. settlers came to Texas and many decided to ranch instead of farm. Some Texans

drove cattle to out of state markets to make a larger profit. During the California Gold Rush, cattle were driven to the state to feed the growing population of miners. Though you had a chance of profit, cattle

drives were dangerous and difficult.

The Texas Longhorns

The longhorn appeared in Texas in the mid-1800’s, as a new breed developed

between the mix of English and Spanish cattle. They thrived well in Texas. They could endure both hot and cold weather and live on small amounts of water and grass. They were also resistant to Texas Fever, a disease that commonly killed cattle in Texas. Because of their horns, they were less likely to be attacked by

mountain lions, wolves, or other predators.

Civil War Cattle Increase

During the Civil War, the number of cattle in Texas grew rapidly, as there were few people left to tend to them or herd them to market. By the end of the Civil War, about five million

cattle roamed the state freely, most unclaimed.

Mini-Economics Lesson: Supply and Demand

When the demand of an item is higher than the supply, the price goes up!

Example: When the new Playstation 3 came out, there was only a certain amount, and

everyone wanted one! Because of this, Sony could charge more money for one and

people would pay for it! When the supply of an item exceeds the

demand, the price for that item goes down. Example: Now that there is a new version

of Playstation, the older versions are worth less money.

Why Move Cattle?

In the North, the demand for cattle was more than their supply, while it was the

opposite in Texas. Because there were so many cattle in Texas, cattle sold for $3 to $6 each, while in New York, cattle sold for as much as $80 a head. This convinced

Texas ranchers to drive their cattle north to make a higher profit. They just had to

get their cattle to the stockyards and processing plants in Kansas, Missouri, or

Illinois, where the railroads would take the cattle the rest of the way to market.

Texas Cattle Drives

To get these cattle to market, cowboys gathered the cattle in a round up, branded them, and

drove them north. On the way, the cattle grazed on the open range, just as they had

been doing in Texas. Problems arose, though, as the drives entered Missouri and Kansas,

where there was little open range left. Most of the land was being farmed on, and as the

cattle moved in, crops were trampled. Texas longhorns also carried Texas Fever, which

killed northern cattle. After angering enough farmers and ranchers, Missouri and Kansas

passes laws to stop cattle drives from Texas.

Cattle Drive Solution

Joseph McCoy stepped in with a solution. The state of Kansas passed a law stating that cattle drives could go through the

state if they stayed west of farming land. McCoy then created a cattle market in Abilene, Kansas, with holding pens and loading chutes, right where the Kansas Pacific Railroad began. He even got the

ranchers a special rate for shipping cattle to Chicago on this rail line. He was the

first person to think of doing this!

Chisholm Trail

In 1867, Texas cowboys herded over 35,000 longhorns along the Chisholm Trail, which

was named for the fur trader, Jesse Chisholm, who blazed it. The trail was not

near farms, so it was a perfect way for Texas cowboys to move their cattle from South Texas to Abilene, Kansas. In 1871, between 600 and 700 thousand cattle

arrived in Abilene. Eventually, farms and towns were created along the Chisholm

Trail as the Indians moved further west. A new trail needed to be found.

Western Trail

The Western Trail was created in 1874. This trail went from Kerrville, Texas, crossed the Red River, and ended at Dodge City in southwest Kansas. The

Western Trail quickly became the most popular route for moving cattle from Texas, and was used until the

closing of the open range.

The Goodnight-Loving Trail

Not all cattle drives ended at railheads. Some ranchers saw an opportunity in driving their cattle to the northwest to

military posts, mining camps, and American Indian Reservations. Charles

Goodnight and Oliver Loving blazed a new trail further west, going through Fort Sumner, New Mexico, known as the

Goodnight-Loving Trail. It soon became one of the most traveled trails, but it

stopped being used when more railroad lines came to Texas.

Cattle Towns

The towns at the end of these trails, such as Abilene and Dodge City, soon became known as Cattle or Cow Towns. After arriving in the

towns, cowboys got paid for their work. Cowboys could be rowdy and could make the towns violent. This

forced some of the towns to bring in outside law enforcement to deal with

the problem.

Life on the Trail

Sometimes ranchers drove their own cattle to market, but most hired drovers and trail bosses to do it for them. A typical cattle

drive had 8 to 12 cowboys caring for up to 3,000 cattle. The cowboys also had a least

one extra horse for the trail, and these extra horses were known as the remuda. There was usually always a cook on the drive, as

well, whose supplies were carried in the chuckwagon. On a good day, the drive could

move 15 to 18 miles. Though they were exciting, cattle drives were dangerous.

Ranching in South Texas

South Texas was very well suited for ranching. One of the biggest and

most well-known ranches in South Texas was the King Ranch, started by

Richard King and Gideon Lewis. King’s wife, Henrietta King, later

developed the ranch and helped to make South Texas prosperous. She donated land and money to many

organizations and helped to establish Texas A&M University in Kingsville,

Texas.

Ranches in the PanhandleAfter the Plains Indians were removed from the

Texas Panhandle and placed onto reservations in Oklahoma, the Panhandle was

opened for ranching. The region’s flat land and grasses were perfect for ranching.

Ranchers adapted to the dry climate by using windmills to reach the underground water

supply. In the 1870’s, Charles Goodnight and John Adair established the JA Ranch in Palo

Duro Canyon, one of the first in the Panhandle. The JA eventually covered more than 700,000 acres and supported 40,000

cattle.

Funded Ranches in the Panhandle

Soon, people from outside of Texas realized that they could make money

from the prosperous Texas cattle industry. Corporations being run by

Northern and British investors began opening ranches in the Panhandle.

The XIT Ranch was one run by outside investors. This ranch later

funded the construction of the state capitol building that we have today.

Lizzie Johnson Williams

Lizzie Johnson Williams started out as a schoolteacher in Austin and became known as the “TexasCattle Queen.” She kept books for the early cattle

drives, wrote articles about the cattle industry,invested in land and cattle, and became a Texaslegend. She had her own cattle brand and ownedcattle ranches throughout Texas. Other women in

Texas, such as Margaret H. Borland and DonaMaria del Carmen Calvillo, also owned and

operated ranches in Texas.

Ranchers and Cowboys

Most Texas ranches were far from towns, so ranchers were generally resourceful and smart. They handled the tasks of a ranch and homestead. They also relied on the

cowboys who worked for them and completed the daily work on the ranch. Many cowboys in Texas were of African

American or Mexican American descent, though they sometimes faced

discrimination. Cowboys usually wore cowboy hats or sombreros to protect them

from the harsh sun. They also carried lariats, light ropes used for lassoing steers.

Bose Ikard

Bose Ikard was born a slave. After the Civil War, he went out west and

worked for Charles Oliver Loving on the JA Ranch. He was one of Charles

Goodnight’s most trusted ranch hands. In this industry, one out of every three cowboys was African

American. They suffered less discrimination than in other

industries. Bose Ikard was laid to rest in Weatherford, Texas.

Cowboy Culture

Cowboys eventually became an important part of American popular culture. Novels, wild west shows, and movies glorified the

cowboy life, making it seem easy and carefree. In reality, cowboys faced many dangers, such as blizzards, floods, fires,

and stampedes. They often worked for 24 hours straight, sleeping in their saddles.

Most only earned around $300 a year, and that equaled out to nearly nothing after buying the supplies they needed on the

trail.

Interesting Cowboy: Nat Love

Nat Love was granted his freedom at the age of 15, and then he went out west to Kansas. He was offered a job as a cowhand if he could stay on a

bucking horse. He did and was hired for $30 a month. He worked the

cattle drives for over 20 years. In 1876, Love entered a rodeo and rode

a bucking mustang for 12 minutes and 30 seconds. He was a legend

after that!

Fencing the Open Range

Many farmers and ranchers wanted to fence their land, but it was

expensive to do so until Joseph F. Glidden invented barbed wire. Many small scale ranchers disliked the idea

of fencing the open range, but the idea still became popular. By the end

of the 1880’s, there were barbed wire fences in every Texas county, which marked the end of the open

range.

The Range Wars

Fencing led to conflict in Texas in the 1880’s. Small ranchers complained that

they were being surrounded by the fences of large cattle companies. Also,

large ranchers fenced off water sources, even if they didn’t own the land, and

many small ranchers had cattle that died of thirst. Range wars broke out, with

ranchers cutting other ranchers’ fences. Wealth cattle operators even hired guards to protect their fences, but

gunfights still occurred.

Fencing Laws

As larger ranchers began fencing their land, they would often block off

roads and mail delivery was interrupted. In 1884, the Texas legislature made fence cutting

illegal, but it also required that a gate be put in for every three miles of fence. People were also banned from fencing land that they did not own or lease. Texas Rangers were

sent to enforce the new laws.

Legacy of the Open Range

By the 1880’s, the open range began to disappear and other changes caused problems for the cattle business. Many ranchers had so many cattle that they accidentally allowed the overgrazing of their land, which damaged the grasses and soil. Along with the invention of barbed wire, the building and expanding of

railroads into Texas put an end to the need for long cattle drives. Regardless, Texas was left with a great legacy. Throughout the world,

Texas is known for cowboys and cattle drives. Cattle ranching continues in Texas and is still a

significant part of the state economy.

Impact of the Cattle Industry on Texas

UT Mascot – the Longhorn The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

has been around for 75 years. Counties throughout the state have livestock shows.

Ranches, like the King Ranch in Kingsville, invest in agricultural education.

Many new breeds of cattle have been created in Texas, including the Longhorn and Santa Getrudis breeds.

Dallas Cowboys are named for the heroes of the Texas frontier.